Somewhere Only We Know

XIII - Spelling Bee

I walked into my unit. It was a mess. The pan I threw at Chase was still on the floor, my couch was flipped, my drawers filled with documents were open, my bedroom door was wide open, and the floor had scattered papers all over it.

I was so tired. I wanted to sleep. But I know that if my mother were here, she would scold me for not cleaning the mess I didn't create. So I started to clean the documents on the floor and put them back into my drawers. I did more than fix the mess. I actually mopped the floor and changed my curtains and bed sheets. That's how badly I didn't want to talk to anyone. First, I see my lame excuse for a father after 7 years having ice cream with my sister in the UK. Then I come home to this mess.

After cleaning

I sat on the carpet my Dad bought me when he found out that I started living alone. He is an absolute asshole, but I am his daughter. I've hated him for the longest time. He would always be out late drinking with his buddies. He would hit me and my siblings, he would hit my mother, he would hit anything but a punching bag. I still remember the countless times that he got home with a black eye. I would always be the one cleaning his wounds, like I didn't have my own wounds to clean. but after all of the shit he's done, I still accept him. If he were to come home right now with bruises, I'd still be the one to give him an icepack. I hate it so much. I hate how no matter what he does, I will still be there to claim him like a lost dog.

I remember when I was just nine-years-old. I won the spelling bee. I came home so proud. I wanted to tell everyone in town about it.

November 17, 2012

"Certificate of, blah, blah. Is hereby awarded to Maxine Yu Davidson for winning 1st place in Spelling Bee Mathematics, Science, and History Category. Wow. first place, huh?" He looked at me with his heavy eyes.

"Yeah, Dad! Are you proud of me?" I asked, smiling so hard, my cheeks were hurting.

"Yeah, sure. Could you do Dad a favor and get the special grape juice in the fridge?"

"But, Mom said-"

He groaned loudly, pushing me out of his way. "Oh, if you don't want to then just say that," He said as he opened the refrigerator door aggressively. "You don't have to bring up that wretched mother of yours."

I stared at him while he was looking for the wine. "I think you've had enough of the special drinks, Dad," I said while giggling quietly. "You smell."

"Say that again and I'll rip that fucking medal off your neck." He said as he looked back at me with an annoyed expression on his face. He then quickly went back to looking for the wine my mother instructed us to keep away from him.

I felt my tears roll down my cheeks, so I quickly ran to my room before he could see me. He would hit us whenever we cried. So we couldn't make a noise whenever he was home. I sat on my bed, staring at the certificate. My tears were dripping all over it.

"No, no, no. My certificate!" I cried as I wiped the tears on it with my bed sheets.

Because it already got wet, wiping it caused it to rip in the middle. I couldn't believe myself. I started sobbing, crumpling up the ripped certificate into a ball. I ran to my bed and cried into my pillow. I cried so much that I fell asleep.

When I woke up, my eyes were so puffy. And it was already night time. There was a plate of cold food on my night stand. I heard footsteps in front of my bedroom door. So I quickly but silently went back to my bed and hid under the sheets, afraid it was my father.

The door quietly opened, causing it to creek. I felt my bed lower because whoever went into my room lied down next to me.

"Max, are you awake?"

I started crying silently again, I raised my bed sheets and sat up.

"Jesse, why is Dad so mean?" I asked.

"I don't know, Maxie," He responded. He looked down and saw my medal around my neck. "What's that shiny thing, Maxie? Did you win your Spelling Bee?" He asked, smiling at me while he wiped off the tears on my face.

"Yes. I won first place," I answered, sniffling. "Are you proud of me?" I asked.

"Of course, I am. I am so proud of you, Maxie," He said, cupping my face. "You're the smartest little girl in town."

I started crying again. I put my hands on my face in embarrassment.

"Oh, Maxie. Don't cry. Come here," He put his arms around me and gave me the tightest hug anyone has ever given me. "I'm sorry Dad is mean. I'm sorry I wasn't here to protect you from him."

"Its okay. Where were you?" I asked, hugging him back.

"I was working. I have this cool job where I give them food in exchange for money. I'll buy you something some day. When I'm rich and famous." He says, laughing.

"How will you become rich and famous from that?" I asked, adjusting the way I sat then wiping the tears on my face.

"Well," He takes a deep breath. "I'm gonna do everything I can to get my dream job. I'm gonna work my butt off to get money. And then, I'm gonna get you out of here."

"Really? Can we go see Micaela?" I asked.

"Maybe. I don't know where she is."

"Well, don't work too hard. You should rest." I stated.

"Of course," He yawned, causing me to yawn too. "In fact, we should rest right now. Jesse is super duper sleepy." He said as he slowly lied down.

what do we think, chat???

not taking this shi for granted. might get writers block again lols.

word count is 1043.